Chapter 16 - Maya, Aztec, Inca
Maya believed each day was _______________
a living god
_____________ provided the basis of Mayan life.
agriculture
City-states linked through
alliances and trade
Incan treatment of conquered peoples
allowed them to keep their own customs and rulers
Mayas based their calendar on
astronomy
The Maya number system was a
base-20 system
Incan social classes
based on form of cooperation called allyu, divided families into groups and a chief led each group
Aztec social classes
EMPEROR 1) Noble class (military leaders, government officials, priests) 2) Commoners (merchants, artisans, soldiers farmers) 3)Enslaved persons
All Incan roads led to
capital, Cuzco
Aztec religious practices
centered on elaborate pulic ceremonies designed to communicate with gods, priests made offerings to gods and presented dramas songs and dances, held many religious festivals, practiced immense human sacrifice for sun go
obsidian
city's most valuable trade item, green or black volcanic glass found in Valley of Mexico
Mayan writing system
consisted of 800 glyphs
Incan government
controlled almost all economic and social life, allowed LITTLE COMMERCE OR TRADE, main demand of subjects was tribute in the form of labor, may be called a modern welfare state
How Incan controlled empire
divided territory and people into units governed by a bureaucracy
Incan calendars
elaborate calendar system with one for night and one for day, used primarily for religious purposes
Toltecs
extremely warlike people who moved into central Mexico after the Teotihuacan whose empire was based on conquest
Quetzalcoatl
feathered serpent, god
Discord in Incan empire
Huayna Capac (great leader) died after terrible omen, empire split between his sons, one laid claim to whole empire, civil war erupted, weakened empire
largest empire ever seen in the Americas
Inca
Mayan decline
Maya suddenly abandoned their cites and Toltec moved in, Maya were divided into small weak city-states
Valley of Mexico
fertile soil, lakes, resources
Tenochtitlan
founded on a small island in Lake Texcoco, connected with outlying residential districts by streets and broad avenues, Huitzilopochitli told Aztecs to build it, had a main walled complex with the Great Temple
The Inca called their empire
The Land of the Four Quarters
Independent city-states ruled by
god-kings
All city-states featured
huge pyramids, temples, palaces, stone-carvings
Classical Period (Mayans)
lasted from AD 250-900, Mayas built spectacular cities
main agriculture
maize, beans, squash
Aztecs based their power on ________________
military conquest and tribute from conquered subjects
Inca had a powerful ________________ and used force ______________
military, only when necessary
Incan government record-keeping
never developed writing system, had oral tradition, used quipu (set of knotted strings) to record data
Mayan religious practices
prayed and made offerings of food, flowers, and incense, pierced and cut bodies, carried out human sacrifice of captured enemies
The Incan created a _________________ to tie the empire together
road system
Homeland of Mayans
stretched from Southern Mexico into northern central America (highland and lowland)
Incan ruler descended from
sun god, Inti (only had 11 noble lineages)
Inca religious practices
sun-worship services, sacrifice of llamas, exchange of goods
Pachacuti
took Incan throne, conquered all of Peru them kept moving, accomplished conquest through diplomacy and military force
Aztecs
used to be called the Mexica, were a poor nomadic people from the harsh deserts of Northern Mexico, found work as soldiers for hire
Maya developed the most advanced ________________________
writing system
Mayan social classes
KING 1) Noble class (priests and warriors) 2) Merchants and artisans 3) Peasant majority
Inca location
South America, capital was Cuzco in southern Peru, stretched from Ecuador (N) to Chile (S), Valley of Cuzco
Mayan calendars
1) Religious calendar - 260 days, 13 20-day months 2) Solar Calendar - 365 days, 18 20-day months with 5 days at end
Aztec calendars
1) Sacred one - 13 months of 20 days 2) Agricultural or solar one - 18 months of 20 days
Triple Alliance
Aztecs, Texcoco, Tlacopan
original location of Inca
Andes
Ancient civilizations of Peru
Chavin, Moche, Nazca, Huari, Tiahuanaco, Chimu,
Aztec problems
Montezuma crowned emperor, empire began to weaken, more tribute and sacrifice with bigger cities, period of rebellion
___________ influenced most aspects of mayan life
Religion
Great Incan cities
Temple in CUZCO, MACCHU PICHU also had temple
First major civilization of central Mexico
Teotihuacan
Important Mayan city-states
Tikal (major center in northern Guatemala), Copan Palenque, Uxmal, and Chichen Itza
Location of the Aztecs
Valley of Mexico
Incan gods
Viracocha (creator god), Inti (son god)